On the morning of February 8 there was a special grades assembly celebrating Black History Month. Grades One through Seven joined together to learn the purpose of Black History Month. After learning that the Black Church was often a haven for African Americans to escape oppression and freely congregate, parent Jen Saffron and Reverend Deryck Tines sang and played the piano to spirituals such as “We are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder” and “Amazing Grace.” Reverend Deryck explained the way that gospels are often as much about the method of singing and projecting forward as much as they are about the lyrics.

Many children joined together on the stage to finish the assembly and practice the method of singing forward to “America the Beautiful.”